Apparatus for preparing warp yarn for dyeing



Ndv. 13, 1928. 1,691.102

E. E. CARLSON ET AL APPARATUS FOR PREPARING WARP YARN FOR DYEING Filed May 17, 1927 '4 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESSES. INVENTORS:

Q/f I Lgz vrenceAizmg ATY Nov. 13, 1928.

E. E. CARLSON ET AL APPARATUS FOR PREPARING WARP YARN FOR DYEING Filed May 17, '1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Fe S v p WJTNESSES: NVENTORS:

ZZiwm Carlson LawrenceA-Sm W /E 'W j WXW Nov. 13, 1928. 1,691,702

' E. E. CARLSON ET AL APPARATUS FOR PREPARING WARP YARN FOR DYEING Filed May 17, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 W lgiem/Lsfeazi. I /0r .1, W

AT'TORINEY Nov. 13, 19.28. 1,691,702

' E. E. CARLSON ET AL APPARATUS FOR PREPARING WARP mag 1 011 11 mm Filed May 17, 1927 '4 Sheets-Sheet 4 7 1L wil A? .22

WITNESSES: mmvrons;

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deeper shade than is the last part.

Patented Nov. 13, 1928.

UNITED SiiAThlfi earner or EDWIN E. CABLSON nun LAWRENCE A. STEAD, F onns'rnn, PnNNsYLvAnIA.

APPARATUS FOR PREPARING WARP "YARN FOR DYEING.

Application filed. May 17,

Our invention relates to warp dyeing and more particularly to means for dyeing an entire warp a uniform color throughout by innnersing it in a dye bath. 7

A standard warp is 6,000 yards long and consists of 378 strands of yarn. These warps are usually dyed by passing them through a dye bath and squeezing out the excess dye liquor as they leave the bath. Due to the affinity of the dye chemicals in the bath for the material in the yarn, the strength of the liquor is gradually diminished with the result that the first part of a warp passed through the bath is dyed a This variation in shade is not a serious defect in yarn to be used for some purposes, while for other purposes, notably for the production of knitted fabrics, the color of the yarn must be uniform throughout.

When it is desired to produce a uniformly dyed warp, the usual method is to wind it into skeins, hang the skeins onto poles, insert the poles in a suitable rack, and immerse same in a dye bath. This requires the unnecessary operations of reeling the warp into ske'ins and winding the warp from the skeins as well as requiring considerable hand labor in hanging the skeins onto poles and inserting the poles in a rack.

The object of our invention is to provide apparatus that will plait an entire warp 'onto a rack so that it may be dyed in open form, without tension, and given a uniform, color throughout.

The drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention and the views therein are as follows: 1 I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus adapted for carrying our invention into effect,

Figure 2 shown partly a view similar to Figure 1 but Figure 3 is a front view, drawn to a larger scale, of the plaiting mechanism shown in Figure l, I

Figure t a fragmentary sectional view, partly in full and drawn to a still larger in section and having certain 1927. Serial No, 191,958,

Figure 3, and I ries,

v Figure 5' a fragmentary sectional view on line 55 on Figure 3. I I

The apparatus for plaiting'the warp onto a suitable rack may be made in a variety of forms but, for the purpose of illustration, we have shown in the accompanying drawings an apparatus adapted to assist in carryin our invention into effect and whichmay be either supported in a suitable frame mounted on the, floor or suspended from the ceiling by hangers and 10. A driving; shaft 11, having a pulley l2 keyed to one of its ends, is-rotatably mounted in hangers 10 and provided with akeyway 13 extends ing the greater part of its length. A clutch.

part 14, having a chain sprocket fixed shaft 11 and a similar clutch part 14* ro tatably mounted on the other. end of shaft 11 'and'having a chain sprocket 15? fixed to it. A clutch part 16 issl-idably keyed on shaft 11 and adapted to engage clutch part 14 while a clutch part 169 is adapted to engage clutch part 14. I y I A clutch part 14: and a clutch part 16'com-. prise an entire clutch of any conventional type which is adapted to act quickly but. smoothly and with a verysmall amount of movement on the part of clutch part 16.

thereto, is rotatably mounted on one end of Any well known type of'clutch which can be;

order to plainly illustrate. thefoperation o'f the apparatus, while, in reality, the move.- ment of clutch part 16 would be so slight that its change in position could not be illustrated in the drawing. f" Y A shaft 17, threaded'the greaterpart of its length, isrotatably mounted in hangers 16 and; carries sprocket Wheels 18 and '18 near its ends. A chain 19 connects sprocket wheel 15 with sprocket wheel 18. A sprocket wheel 15 is 'mounted'on a stud shaft pro jecting from the frame and carries a gear 15" which meshes with a gear 11 fixed to shaft 11. A chain 19 connects sprocket wheels 15 and 18. When clutch parts 14 and 16 are in engagement, and shaft 11 in rotation, sprocket wheel 15 will drive sprocket wheel 18 and actuate shaft 17 in one direction. When clutch parts 14" and 16" are thrown into engagement, gear 15 is thrown into in reverse directions. I

A top rail 20 connects hangers 10 and mesh with'gear 11 and shaft 1.7 is rotated provides a runway for a pair of wheels 21' which are journaled in an auxiliary frame 22 while a bottom rail 23 connects the lower ends of hangers 10 and extends through suitable bearings 24 formed near the lower part of auxiliary frame 22. Screw bearings 25,- are formed in each side of auxiliary frame 22 and screw shaft 17 threaded there- ;hrough so that, as this shaft is rotated in one directioinauxiliary frame 22 will be moved toward hanger 10, and when shaft 17 is rotated in the opposite direction, it will be moved toward hanger 10 wheels 21 supporting the frame and guiding its upper end while the lower end of this frame slides on bottom rail 23.

As auxiliary frame 22 approaches clutch part 16, a contact 26, secured to one side of frame 22 will engage a stop 27, fixed on a rod 28 having each end hinged to a clutch lever 29 pivoted in brackets 30 secured to hangers 10, and move clutch part'16 outof engagement with clutch part 14 and simultaneously move clutch part 16 into engagement with clutch part 14 and thus reverse the movement of frame 22. As auxiliary frame 22 I approaches clutch part 16* a contact 31, se-

cured to the other side of auxiliary frame 22, engages a stop 27*, causes clutch part 16 to engage clutch part 14 and clutch part 16 to disengage clutch part 14? and again reverses the movement of frame 22.

frame 22. A

.A pinion32, slidably keyed on shaft 11, is held between a bearing 33 and one side o'fauxiliary frame 22 and meshes with a gear 34 fixed on a shaft 35 rotatable in auxiliary gear 36 fixed on a shaft 37 rotatable in auxiliary frame 22, meshes with gear 34and with a gear 38 fixed on a shaft 39 rotatable in auxiliary frame 22. A roller 40 is fixed on shaft 35, a roller 41 on shaft .37, and a roller 42 on shaft 39 and these rollers are adapted to feed-the Warp through frame 22. A link 49 is provided in one end witha slot 50',which straddles a pin 51 fixed- 'to the side of gear 47 and has its lower end 7 keyed to a shaft 52 rota-table in the lowernected to the lower end of the plaiting tube.

It will thus be evident that, as gear 47 rotates, pin 51 will move along slot 50 and oscillate the upper end of link 49, rock shaft 52 and consequently oscillate the lower ends of lever 53 and plaiting tube 45. It will also be evident that, aspin 51 and stub shaft 48 come into horizontal alignment with one another, the movement of the lower end of plaiting tube 45. will cease and that its speed will increase as pin 51 leaves these two points andapproaches its uppermost or lowermost position when it will be in alignment with shafts 48 and 52 and the lowerend of plaiting tube 45 be moving at its maximum speed. v The apparatus is so designed that the end of plaiting tube 45 will be immediately above one of the poles 55, forming a part of a rack 56, when pin 51 and shafts 48 and 52 are in alignment and the end. of

the-tube comes into close proximity with an adjacent pole 55 at each end of its swing, as

shown in dot-and-dash lines on Figure 2,

A warp 57 is led from the original package over roller 40, rearwardly and around roller '41, and over roller 42 into plaiting tube 45.

The mechanism is so timed that the rollers is then caused'to pass over the top of the pole 55 by continued rotation of gear 47 and thesame operation is repeated on the opposite side of this pole during the second half revolution of gear 47. .As the loops of warp usually extend 27 inches below poles 55, 54 inches of warp is fed through tube 45 while it is moving over the-space between two of the holes. I 7

As screw shaft 17 is being rotated constantly, auxiliary frame 22 will move longitudinally of the pole 55 on which the warp is being plaited and stops 27 are so adjusted that contacts 26 or 31 willfrengage them and reverse the movement of screw shaft 17 when plaiting tube 45 arrives at the end of a pole 55. "Screw shaft- 17 is rotated at such a speed that the strands of warp lying across the top of poles 55 are spaced one against the other so that each pole is completely filled with warp. 5 i

Rack 56 is supported in a carriage 58 dur ing the plaiting process and this'carriage is preferably supported on a suitable track 59 and adapted to bemoved along by means of a chain carried on sprockets 61 and 61 rotatably mountedin bearings 62, Sprocket 61 has a ratchet wheel 63 fixed thereto and adapted to beengaged' by a pawl 64: pivoted on an arm 65 and held in engagement with the ratchet wheel by a spring 66 in the well known manner.

A rod67 has one end secured to the outer notches will causesprocket 61 to move chain 7 projection 70 formed 011 one end and engaged by a block 71 secured to chain 60 or cl in 60' may be provided with a plurality of blocks 71, which are so designed that they areadapted'to pass around sprockets 61, or it may befprovided with asingle connection to.

carriage 58 and the carriage returned to its starting position bymerely lifting pawl64 out of engagement with ratchet wheel 68 and pushing the carriage.rcarwardly.

In order that carriage 58may be fed for- Wardly one space when auxiliary frame 22 approaches the. opposite end of shaft 17, we hinge a bell crank 72 in the lower end of hanger 10 and connect the upper arm of this bell crank to the lower arm of bell crank 68'by means of a link 73. An extension 69 is formed on the lower arm of bell crank 72 and is adapted to be. abuttcd by the end of rod 52 just before contact 31 engages stop 27 so that carriage 58 may be fed forwardly just before the direction of rotation of shaft 1'? is changed. The weight of rod 67 should besuflicient to more than counterbalance bell cranks 68 and T2 and link 78 so that pawl 64-, may be returned to its normal position by the force of gravity and prevented from dropping below this position by bellv crank 68 abutting a stop 74tformed in tae bifurcated end of hanger 1.0, i

. Racks 56 are preferably of such size that they "ill just nicely accommodate warp. hen rack 56 has been filled, carriage 58 is in a position in ad'vance of the plai ting mechanism so that .rack56 may. he lifted by a suitable hoist. and placedi'n a dyeing vat. Carriage 58 then be returned to. its starting position and another rack 56 placed therein and filled while the warp on the first rack is loein dyed.- i

The dyeing vat has. not been illustrated as as this would tangle the yarn.

an entire 7 it may be of the well known Hussong type which is ordinarily employed for dyeing yarn in skein form. In this instance, however, the yarn carrying poles are not rotated The dye liquor is circulated in the usual mannerand should preferably, for at least a portion of the time, pass upwardly through the yarn compartment so as tofloat the yarn free of the poles and allow it to become thoroughly saturated.

In dyeing warp yarn according to our, method, the end of the warp is led from the riginal package over and around rollers 40, 41 and 42, as previously described, and lapped over the end pole 55 in rack 56'; carriage 58 having been previously placed in position- Plaiting tube' l5 will oscillate to deposit a loop first on one side of the pole and thenon the other while-auxiliary frame 22 i s fed longitudinally, relatively to pole 55, by the action ofscrew shaft 17 until this poleis covered by adjacently disposed loopsof warp.

Carriage58 will then be fed forwardly to bring the next pole in position and screw shaft'll' will be reversed so that auxiliary frame 22 is fed in the opposite direction and plaiting tube 45 directs warp over the length of this pole. the entire Warp has/been disposed on the poles in rack 56 which is then removed from carriage 58 and placed in the dyeing vat and dyed in theusual manneras noted above. Carriage 58 is then provided with an empty rack and. returned to the starting position so that-this rack may be filled as above described. V I

In order that the plaiting mechan'sm will not continue to feed warp after a rack has" been filled, we preferably provide means for stopping th s mechanism. A number of This process continues until ways to accomplish this result will readily suggest themselves to any. mechanic'and' different devices may be required for different situations. "In the present application of our invention, we attach a contactor 75, to the rear end of carriage 58 so that its lower end extends downwardly between the rails of track 59. e place an electric switch,

normally held closed by a spring andelectrically connected to. the motor which operates the plaiting mechanism, below the rails near bearings. 62. After the. last pole in rack 56 has been filled, carnage 58 will be fed forwardly one more space in the usual manner and cause contactor T5 to open the switch and deprive the motor of its power. It is evident that a switch opener may be secured to other parts of the carriage or in any other suitable place, as on chain 60.

If shaft 11- is belt driven from a. lfne shaft, a clutch may be installed which is adapted :to-he operated by a lever arm attached to a vertical shaft having a lever arm on its lower end adapted'to be engaged by a contactor attached to carriage 58 or to the carriage moving mechanism. Other means may be employed and different installations will probably require different stopping means. As a skilled mechanic can readily provide such means to meet the requirements of a Specific installation, none of these means have been illustrated in the drawings.

By the use of our invention and following our improved method, it is not necessary to reel the yarn into skeins, unwind it from the skeins, place the skeins on the poles by hand or remove the skeins from the poles, thus affording a great saving in time, labor and overhead expense while producing an evenly dyed product.

It is evident that the apparatus for preparing warp yarn for dyeing illustrated herein is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the in vention herein set forth and hereafter claimed.

We claim:

1. In apparatus of the character'described, a rack, poles spaced in the rack, means for supporting the rack, and means for plaiting yarn onto the poles.

2. In apparatus of the character described, a carriage, a rack on the carriage,

poles spaced in the rack, means for plaiting yarn onto thepoles, and means for moving the carriage. I

:3. In apparatus of the character de scribed, a carriage, a rack on the carriage,

' poles spaced in the rack, means for plaiting yarn onto the poles, means for moving the carriage, and means adapted to interrupt the flow of yarn from the plaiting means.

4. In apparatus of the character described, a carriage, a rack on the carriage, poles spaced in the. rack,'means for plaiting yarn over a pole, means for moving the plaiting means longitudinally of the pole,

means for moving the carriage to bring succeeding poles into'position to be filled with yarn, and meansfor interruptin the flow' of yarn from the plaiting means wiien a predetermined length of yarn has been fed therethrough.

5. Yarn plaiting mechanism including a frame, a plaiting tube oscillatable in the frame, means for feeding fyarn through the I plaiting tube, a screw sha main frame, an auxiliary frame carried by g the main frame, a plaiting tube oscillatable in the auxiliary'frame, rollers in the auxiliary frame for feeding yarn through theplaiting tube, a screw shaft threaded in the auxiliary frame and rotatable in the main frame,

adapted to selectively engage the clutch.

sprockets.

8. Yarn plaiting mechanism including a main frame, anauxiliary frame carried by the main frame, a plaiting tube oscillatable in the auxiliary frame, means for feeding yarnthrough the plaiting tube, a main shaft rotatable in the main frame, a screw shaft threaded in the auxiliary frame and rotatable in the main frame, clutch sprockets rotatae ble on the main shaft and mechanically connected to the screw shaft, clutch parts slidably keyed to the main shaft, clutch levers engaging the clutch parts, a rod connecting the clutch levers, and stops on the rod adapted to be abutted by the auxiliary frame for causing one clutch part to engage and the other disengage its clutch sprocket.

9. In yarn plaiting mechanism having a main frame, an auxiliary frame carried by the main frame and a plaiting tube hung in the auxiliary frame; means for oscillating the plaiting tube including a shaft rotatable in the auxiliary frame; a strut fixed to the plaiting tube; a lever hinged to the strut and fixed to the shaft; a link fixed to the shaft.

and having an elongated slot; a wheel rotatable in the auxiliary frame; a pin in the table adjacent the track; a chain carried by the sprocket wheels; means connecting the carriage to the chain; a ratchet fixed to rotate with one of the sprocket wheels; a pawl engaging the ratchet and mechanically'connected to the plaiting mechanism, whereby.

operation of said mechanism will intermit tently cause the pawl to impart rotary movement to the ratchet wheel.

11. In a yarn plaitingapparatus including yarn plaiting mechanism, having a main frame and an auxiliary frame movable transversely ofthe main frame, and a yarn able adjacent the track; a chain carried by the sprocket wheels; means connecting the carriage to the chain; a ratchet fixed t0 r0- tate with one of the sprocket wheels; an arm rockably mounted adjacent the ratchet Wheel; a pawl hinged on the arm and engaging the ratchet wheel; abell crank hinged on the main frame; arod connecting the arm and the bell crank; and means I adapting the auxiliary frame to actuate the 10 bell crank and cause the pawl to impart rotary movementto the ratchet wheel.

In testimony whereof we have Signed our names to this specification.

LAVVRENCE' A. STEAD. EDWIN E. CARLSON. 

